India has set an ambitious target of capturing 10 per cent of the global services market by 2047, with a newly constituted High-Powered ‘Education to Employment and Enterprise’ Standing Committee beginning work on shaping policies around jobs, skills and services-led growth.
The committee, constituted under the chairpersonship of NITI Aayog CEO Nidhi Chibber, held its first meeting on 22 May to discuss strategies aimed at boosting growth, employment generation and exports in the services sector, which continues to play a major role in India’s economy, the government’s policy think tank said in a statement on Saturday (24 May).
The initiative was proposed in Paragraph 51 of the Union Budget 2026-27 and is designed to help India strengthen its position in the global services economy.
According to the NITI Aayog’s statement, the committee will identify priority areas to optimise growth, employment and exports while also examining the impact of frontier technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), on future jobs and skill requirements.
The panel includes representatives from the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
State governments including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh are also represented, alongside industry bodies such as NASSCOM, FICCI, CII, FISME and SEPC.
During the meeting, Sonia Pant, Programme Director of the Services Division at NITI Aayog, made a presentation on the services sector’s potential in economic value creation and employment generation.
Chibber underlined the need to align education, skilling and employment ecosystems with the changing requirements of the economy.
She said India’s demographic dividend offers a major opportunity to accelerate growth through policy measures that create productive employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for young people.
The discussions focused on labour force participation, youth employment, education and skill alignment, workforce preparedness and the transition of labour towards non-farm sectors.
Participants also deliberated on the adoption of frontier technologies and the need to strengthen industry-relevant skilling pathways.
The committee noted that the services sector continues to play a pivotal role in India’s economic development through its contribution to economic resilience, export competitiveness, employment quality and integration into global value chains.
The panel decided to meet regularly and work towards actionable recommendations aimed at improving employability, fostering entrepreneurship, strengthening industry-relevant skilling and accelerating growth in the services sector as part of the broader vision of a ‘Viksit Bharat’.
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